I Haven't Run A Marathon But...

I have spent the last week with a just turned four-year-old and an almost two-year-old while they navigated the time change from Asia to America which, is pretty much the same thing as running a marathon. Or two. I have about a million pictures on my phone and a million special moments marked in my heart and I want to dump them all here but I guess I won't. 

Well I am going to dump a few because what good is a blog if not to overload anyone who might still be reading blogs with a bunch of family photos? 

Also maybe more than a few. 

Y'all know I have to go all the way back to Day 1 here because I don't know any other way. The 'kids' (yes they are full grown adults who've been raising children of their own while living out of the country for two years but your kids are your kids no matter their age) and an-y-way... the 'kids' bid farewell to the Land of Morning Calm and landed in crazy town USA (that would be the Atlanta Airport) last Sunday night. 

Their flight was on time, but then there was that pesky three hour wait in a completely ridunculous passport control queue with two toddlers who'd just spent fourteen hours on a plane, and I am here to tell you these 'kids' are absolute rock stars.  

Small rant...what is the point of travelers masking on an airplane when you're going to stand them shoulder to shoulder in a s-l-o-w moving three hour queue with a bajillion people upon arrival? 

On the other side of the gate we grandparents were waiting waiting waiting not so patiently to welcome them home. Yes of course all four grandparents made the two hour trek to the airport. We have not had an in person hug in almost two years, plus we needed two vehicles to haul their umpteen bags and assorted baby gear back to the lake.

Finally there were hugs and tears and then a too long car ride to South Carolina but we made it with everyone's remarkably good moods in tact. Their pup (you know him now as our pup) plus Daughter2 were there waiting when we opened the front door and I cannot explain to you how wonderful it feels to have everyone on the very same terra firma. 

Sleep. It's all relative when you're upside down on time and these little men were such troopers. There were some middle of the night calls for momma but by about day four everyone was pretty much in the sleep groove. And nobody was cranky. They jumped right in to lake life, both figuratively and literally...

...and we have had the best time doing all the things, many many things, with the cutest tiny humans on the planet. There was fishing with Pawpaw-

Celebrating a special someone's 4th birthday with all  his favorite people-

Boating-

In case you're wondering they like to go fast!!...or as the mancub says, 'When are we going to kick it into gear?

There were bubbles-

These bubble guns my neighbor recommended (Amazon link here) were a huge hit and so much better than the tiny little wand in a bottle we grew up with-

My popcorn popper was a hit too-

This little guy had his very first taste of Chick-fil-A-

Summertime in South Carolina definitely calls for popsicles dripping down your chin-

There was bird feeding-

And bird watching-

Homemade waffles with Nana-

Pool fun-

Auntie hijinks-

This aunt is the absolute best at doing whatever needs doing to keep our proverbial train on the track. Don't know how we'd manage without her. For real. 

Also, sisters reunited might be my favorite thing about the whole happy-exhausting-glorious week we've had together. 

God bless America and the service men and women still far from home, still far from their siblings and their children's grandparents and extra hands to help with busy toddlers. Far from their momma's home cooking and in-person time with their people. The sacrifices are both large and small and we are so grateful for each and every one. 

Welcome home! 

Positively Grateful

I don't typically blog on Saturdays, but since I'm still rolling through the April A-Z challenge I'll make an exception. Today's word comes from an American friend I met while living in England.

Our daughters went to high school together and we were both involved with Young Life and the American Women's Club so spent a fair amount of time together back in the day. She's a woman of genuine warmth and her faith runs deep. She encourages me to keep looking for that silver lining, and the word she chose suits her-

Day 16-P is for Positive

One thing that helps me stay positive in this topsy turvy world is cultivating a heart of gratitude. Sometimes gratitude comes automatically and sometimes we need to stop what we're doing and take stock. 

During the last A-Z I used Saturdays for making a list of 20 small blessings featuring the letter of the day, and that's what I want to do now. Unfortunately P was one of the letters I made a list for in 2019 so I'm going to have to get creative. 

Can I come up with another 20? I think so, and NO double dipping (aka repeats). You can read last year's list by clicking the link here. 

The letter p and things for which I'm positively grateful-

promises kept

a red ripe plum

poetry

making plans

precious grandbabies

answered prayer

freshly painted walls

purple pansies

possibility 

the perfect shade of polish

peaceful mornings

French pastry

an accident prevented

a field of poppies

my sister P

the letters and wisdom of Paul

a dip in the pool on a warm summer day

crossword puzzles

free parking

a problem solved

What would be on your 'P' list? 

Once Upon A Time

I'm playing a little bit of catch up today since I was without power earlier in the week and missed a letter.

Today's letters come from my sister and also from a long time dear friend who worked with hubs for many many years. Both made trips to our home in England way back when and the words they chose go together, so it's a combo post today. 

Day 12-L is for London

Day 15-O is for Once

Once upon a time we lived in England. Not London, but nearby in a small village about 15 miles west of the city. A dot on the map where we walked our pup through the commons, met friends for dinner in the local pub, and hopped a train to London any time we pleased. Which was often. 

Where we mastered the art of parallel parking in minuscule spaces, puzzled over the rules of Cricket, and learned a whole new vocabulary.

Where we fell in love with Indian curries, iced buns, and Sunday roasts with a side of yorkshire pudding. 

Where we indulged daily in the pure pleasure of a cuppa with a friend. 

Where we raised teenagers...

Drove left while seated right...

And spent hours in a garden where poppies and foxglove and people grew. 

Where we donned wellies to hike past ancient trees and fields of rapeseed...

Across moors and bridges and old stone walls in the middle of nowhere.

Around bluebell blankets and fields of sheep. 

Through kissing gates that led to wide open spaces and beauty as far as the eye could see. 

Where history was at every turn...

And when the sun shone it was your favorite day of all the days. 

This picture popped up on my Facebook page last week, our first tagged photo on the site some 11 years ago-

We're in front of Buckingham Palace here and asked a stranger to take our picture. Selfies weren't a thing yet, or at least they weren't for us. I think the trend was just getting started back in 2009 but 11 years later we still haven't mastered it, so yeah. We asked a stranger to take a picture and they obliged. 

A moment marked with the click of a camera.
There were a thousand more. 

Once upon a time we fell in love with a place and words and people. 

We are in love with them still. 

About Those Mysterious Ways

Sixteen years ago we moved to England. We spent six mostly glorious, sometimes challenging, oftentimes edifying, ever so memorable years living in a small village not far from London.

People moved in and out of the country on a regular basis which meant every single year you were forced to bid tearful goodbyes to once-upon-a-time strangers who had quickly become dear friends. And every single year you learned to re-open your heart and home and welcome the new strangers who in the blink of an eye would also become cherished friends.

For five years I hosted a women's bible study in my home, and the women who walked in and out of my great big front door, the one with no handle and the old fashioned bell, were some of the most extraordinary women I've ever had the privilege to know.

One of those women I'll call K. Her husband was in the Air Force so they left the UK around the same time we did and have moved several times since because that's the nature of the Air Force. We've also moved several times because that's just what we do. ahem I haven't seen my friend K since we left England ten years ago.

On Saturday night my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson had dinner in her home.

In South Korea.

Because she too is currently residing there with her family, and because God is so incredibly good to remind us He goes before us in the hard things. The not so hard things too but maybe we look for Him a little more in the hard.

I can never get over the smallness of this great big world.

The 'kids' are doing great as they settle in to their new life on the other side of the globe, but knowing someone is there to 'welcome the new strangers' is such a gift, and one for which I feel tremendous gratitude.

When I started this blog we lived across the pond and I had this verse in my header-

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:9-10

It was a verse I took great comfort in and one that came to the top of my brain as my daughter talked about having dinner in their home.

Even on the far side of the sea He remembers us.
He guides us.
He holds us fast.

Life Lately

It's been a while since last we spoke and I miss writing here.

A lot has been happening in our little corner of the world and I've struggled with the best way to go about getting back on track with my blog. How about we start with three things because three things somehow feels manageable. Three huge ginormous things, but still just three things.

There's no real easy way to write this so I'm going to be blunt. My daughter2 and her fiancee cancelled their wedding a week prior to the event and we're still feeling a little fragile round here. I imagine we will feel that way for quite some time.

It's not a secret but it is private, and yes there is a difference. I'm not going to write about the specifics here, in fact I probably wouldn't write about it at all except people have been emailing asking what's up so it felt like I needed to say something. Daughter2 loves my blog and knows I can't really keep writing here without mentioning the elephant in the room so she's told me to carry on.

This is me carrying on.

Second thing...Daughter1, her husband, son (aka cutest little mancub in all the land), and baby #2 (coming this fall!) are moving to South Korea.

My son-in-law finishes a grueling five year residency program in June, takes his written boards in July, then around the world they go. I will definitely write more about this but let's stick with headlines for now.

Thirdly, their overseas move means this guy is going to live with us for the next two years. Everyone say hi to Hunley-

He's adorable and only slightly naughty and I for sure will have more to say about him as he settles in to his temporary new home on the lake.

He will settle in right?

Of course he will.
We'll settle in too.

And I might have more to say along those lines so don't wander too far.

Deep In the Heart of Texas

Hubs and I spent the weekend guess where? You guessed it. We flew out early Thursday morning after a very late short night Wednesday. His co-workers threw him a retirement party on Wednesday evening but I'm going to save that recap for later, because this morning I want to talk about Texas.

UK friends as we call them round here....note-when you move a lot you might refer to your friends via geography. We have Maryland friends, NJ the first time friends, college friends, etc...anyway UK friends otherwise known as friends we met while living in the UK, had a son getting married in the hill country outside of Austin on Saturday, so we made a long weekend of it.

I've always heard people talk about the Texas hill country and I think it lived up to it's billing. We had an absolutely fabulous time, but first things first. Cowboy boots. I needed a pair. I had a pair years ago and was looking forward to the whole boot buying experience. When in Rome, right?

Hubs and I flew into Houston and made the drive over to Austin Thursday afternoon. You may have heard there's a ginormous convention going on in the city of Austin just now (SXSW) so flights were ridunculous. We needed a rental car anyway, so opted to go the Houston route.  It was an easy drive over (I napped, so easy for me anyway) until you hit Austin. What is up with your traffic Austin? Ka-razy, and not just because of SXSW either. Plus UT was on Spring Break so most of the students were away. I can't imagine what it's like on game day.

We eventually got to our hotel, checked in, and proceeded straight to the boot store. As a side note-I wish I'd invented the boot jack. We did buy one because I told hubs I'd have to sleep in mine if I didn't have some way to get them off my feet.

After shopping we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at a place called Lamberts, on W. 2nd Street. Hubs ordered the short rib and I guess what they say is true-

Everything's bigger in Texas! Hubs had me put my hand there for perspective. In case you're interested, I had brisket which was melt in your mouth delicious.

Friday we slept in, then made our way back into downtown. I need to pause here and acknowledge the absolute spectacular perfection that was the weather. Bright blue skies, warm air and a cool breeze, loads of sunshine...it was heaven. I have not been outside without a coat in months, and Texas weather was just what the doctor ordered.

The Texas capitol building is a landmark so we headed there first. Really pretty, and did I mention the weather? We wandered around inside a bit before getting back out amongst the masses to find lunch.  There's a great energy in this city, and it was amped up a few notches because of the SXSW happenings. We had lunch on a patio and soaked up the sun. Our Vitamin D tanks were in desperate need of a refill. Thanks Texas!

After lunch we headed out into true hill country where the wedding festivities were being held-Dripping Springs.  Doesn't that just sound like a sleepy hill country town? Hubs and I had some time to fill before dinner so we mozied down the road to a cute little shop to browse and maybe buy me something pretty. Or two somethings. Or four. My retirement present-ha!

It just so happened Miss Rodeo Austin was in this same little shop also buying something pretty, so the shopkeeper snapped a blurry picture for us. Miss Rodeo Austin was adorable.

We were meeting up with some 'UK friends' for dinner. Two couples we haven't seen in eons so there was Mexican food, and loads of catching up to do before we moved on to the after dinner venue-The Mercer Street Dance Hall. 

Lots of Texas two-stepping going on, which is way harder than it looks. The bride and groom were awesome to watch! Plus, the sweetest thing...the bride actually wore her future mother-in-law's wedding gown to the rehearsal dinner and for dancing afterwards. She had it cut down into a dancing dress and I thought it was just precious. The groom's mama doesn't have daughters, so this was a really a thoughtful thing for this special bride to do.

The wedding wasn't until Saturday evening so we had a whole day to meander around the countryside. We spent a couple of hours right here-

The Solaro winery, sitting on their outdoor patio in the glorious Texas sun. I might be a little obsessed with the weather, but y'all it has been a winter in the northeast. Eventually we drove on over to a little town called Driftwood for lunch at the original Salt Lick in Driftwood Texas.

There was a crowd so we sat under this big tree and inhaled one of the best smells in all the world-Texas BBQ.

We three girls did a few laps around the hotel property before getting ready for the wedding because it seemed right.

The wedding was held in a pretty venue right next door to our hotel. The ceremony took place outside and there were cocktails on the patio before we all went indoors for dinner and more dancing. The bride and groom are both engineers and fully embraced their wedding date. They had a lot of fun with it including a pi(e) plate for their guests to sign.

It was the sort of day you didn't want to end. Perfect weather, old friends, young love, perfect weather. Sunday we flew back home to the tundra. We arrived in Newark on time, but were kept sitting on the tarmac for almost an hour waiting on a 'parking space'. Something was going on in baggage claim too, so collecting our luggage took another hour. We finally arrived home in the dark of night, the pile of snow a little smaller but not small enough, and temps in the 30's. Re-entry here is always a little bit rough, but it's okay.

The stars at night, are big and bright...all around this great land.